tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61294719600519785562024-03-13T08:18:23.996-07:00IBREALby Ian GurvitzIBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.comBlogger208125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-88527416274039696642016-06-12T06:18:00.002-07:002016-06-12T06:19:11.343-07:00NEW POST ON ATTN.COM<a href="http://www.attn.com/stories/9019/swing-states-in-2016-election" target="_blank">http://www.attn.com/stories/9019/swing-states-in-2016-election</a>http://www.attn.com/stories/9019/swing-states-in-2016-electionIBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-65298085597157732362016-05-30T07:06:00.002-07:002016-05-30T07:06:54.948-07:00NEW POST ON ATTN.COMhttp://www.attn.com/stories/8667/what-the-religious-right-gets-wrong-about-religionIBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-8987512872807813402016-05-27T06:36:00.002-07:002016-05-27T06:36:35.032-07:00COMBAT RADIO -- L.A. TALK RADIO -- ON THIS MORNING 10-12IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-85662898384729428042016-05-25T11:02:00.002-07:002016-05-25T11:02:30.755-07:00TRUMP CAN’T BE STOPPED WITH CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS<div class="MsoNormal">
Now that the general election is virtually underway, not a
day goes by without some new bombshell. Some of them fired by Trump, like when
he does his passive/aggressive “people are saying” routine by bringing up Vince
Foster. And it works. It works because the media chews on how insane it is. But
they talk about it. Which is why it works. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Although most of the on-air talk lately revolves around
Trump and his travelling reality show – The Daily Contradiction. He
contradicted himself once on climate change, twice on guns in schools -- in the
same sentence. He’s being challenged on his alleged $1 million contribution to
veterans, his refusal to release his tax returns, his flip-flopping on self-funding.
The accusations were dead on, backed up by facts and research, and delivered with
an air of finality, like a final checkmate move in which one’s opponent has no
choice but to topple his king and admit defeat. And that might be true, if this
were a chess game. But it’s not. It’s a street fight. And only Trump knows
that, which is why he can’t be hurt by any conventional political weapons, like
facts. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Contradictions bounce off the man like bricks off Superman.
He doesn’t give a crap about hypocrisy. Accuse him of lying, he’ll call you a
liar for accusing him. Attack the attacker. Just like Scientology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or he’ll strike back on Twitter, and you
can’t beat him on Twitter. There’s no judge on Twitter. No ref. No fact-checkers.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he’s not visible, which means he’s
not vulnerable. Or he’ll call in to some friendly morning show to offer a
one-sided rebuttal, where, in most cases, he won’t be challenged because the
shows fear losing access. <o:p></o:p></div>
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You can’t expose Trump’s beliefs because he has no beliefs. Shit
flows out of his mouth on an ad hoc basis, crafted to rile up the crowd. And it
works, because they don’t know what he’s saying, they just love the way he says
it. If he says to boo journalists, they boo. If he said to applaud them, they’d
applaud. He’s a clown, pulling streams of colored handkerchiefs out of his
sleeve at a children’s party. And the children are delighted. Their love for
this guy isn’t rational. It’s emotional. Trump promises change, but has no
ability to deliver it, nor any core philosophy to base it on. He treats the
electorate like woman he’s trying to talk into bed. “It’s going to be
fantastic!” “You’re gonna be so happy! “You’ll have so many orgasms it’ll make
your head spin.“<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Trump train is running on smoke, mirrors, and bullshit, His
rallies are partisan love fests. And the convention in Cleveland will have all
the gravitas of halftime at the Super Bowl. It’s not a campaign. It’s a show. And
the only way to reveal the inner workings of a show is to lift back the curtain.
And that won’t happen until the debates, where he’ll be naked and exposed, and
can be hit in his Achilles heel – his stupidity. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Trump is stupid. Yes, he’s rich, and clever and shrewd and
ruthless. But he’s stupid. A dunce. An imbecile. An ignoramus. That’s why he
claims to be so smart. You know who goes around saying, “I’m smart?” Stupid
people who don’t want to get found out. Who else would proudly say, “I love the
poorly educated!” He claims to have an amazing vocabulary yet speaks in simple
sentences. Noun, verb, superlative. “My bank account is huge!” “My rallies are
fantastic!” He’s also a flagrant liar. He’s not a clever, debating team liar
like Cruz, who hides his lies inside careful language. Trump is the guy who’s
caught in bed with another woman by his wife, and denies it with a “who you
gonna believe, me or your lyin’ eyes?” Protestors in Jersey City after 9/11?
Absolutely. Climate change a Chinese plot? Why the hell not. He can say all
this shit now, then just double down on the lie, and wait for the news cycle to
run to the next shiny object. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But that act won’t fly on a debate stage. Unless he makes up
some outrageous excuse to duck them, he’ll have to go head-to-head against Hillary,
and face questions by real moderators who won’t let him slide. And this will be
the game change. He’ll have to give substantive answers to real questions, and
follow-up questions. He’ll have to go head to head with someone who has
knowledge, facts and experience on her side. <o:p></o:p></div>
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If she’s smart, which she is, that’s where she will take him
apart, and then take him down. He can yell Benghazi, and Vince Foster, and
Monica until he turns whatever color he turns next when he’s pissed off. It
just won’t fly. This will bring out all his insecurities and he’ll get mean and
implode. He’ll be embarrassed on national TV, by a woman, his worst nightmare.
This will make him look weak and lose face. And then, his supporters will lose
faith. <o:p></o:p></div>
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For the moment, the media can have a field day exposing his
lies and contradictions, but they won’t land. Right now, he’s invulnerable
which, to his supporters, makes him look like Superman. But the debates should
be his Kryptonite. <o:p></o:p></div>
IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-91797086817338755242016-05-23T11:47:00.000-07:002016-05-23T11:47:23.081-07:00IS TRUMP'S HAIR HIDING THE MARK OF THE DEVIL?<div class="MsoNormal">
For the last year, people have been struggling to comprehend the Trump phenomenon. Not just why he's winning, but what does he want? He's already rich, so it can't be money. Fame? He's got that. Power? He's got that, too. But perhaps it's not enough power. What would this odious, ignorant, malevolent, misogynistic, misanthropic, xenophobic piece of shit want that he doesn't already have? Why would he amass legions of devoted followers who hang on his every word? Who would behave like the personification of pure evil... other than the personification of evil itself.<br />
<br />
There have been whispers on closed circles for some time that Donald J. Trump is not who he claims to be. People are saying that the man's singleminded quest for power has actually been a smokescreen to hide his true mission: world domination. In short, people are saying that Trump... is the Antichrist. <br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Of course, most reasonable people say that's ludicrous. That
there is no devil. No Satan. That it's just a metaphor for the evil that exists in the heart of man. Or is
that itself a meme that has been floated into the world to
distract people from his true agenda? Now, many say that this is just a wild accusation. After all, where is the evidence? Where is the proof? The proof is on his
head. The mark of the devil: 666. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It's a well-known fact that the mark of
the devil -- 666 -- is imprinted on the head of his spawn. This is documented
in the Book of Revelations, Verse 18: <em>"Let him that hath
understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and
his number is Six hundred threescore and six."</em> The Bible also
says that the Antichrist will first accrue great wealth as a steppingstone to
political power. But where is the proof that it applies to Trump? The proof is in
the man himself. The proof... is in the hair.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Trump is an egomaniac. He's rich.
Arrogant. Vain. For some ungodly reason, he takes pride in his appearance. However, no man with
even a modicum of self-respect would orchestrate a ridiculous front and side-whip cotton candy confection like he's rocking on that head. Why would he go
to such ridiculous lengths, unless he's hiding something. Something... like the mark of the devil.
Trump obviously suffers from male-pattern baldness. And while baldness has been
the bane of existence for men over the ages, recently the shaved head has
established itself in the culture as a legitimate fashion choice. So, why
hasn't he shaved his head? Or gotten hair transplants? He can certainly afford the best. Some say it's because he
can't risk anyone seeing what has been imprinted on his head. 666. The mark of
the devil. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Still, some apologists counter that this is mere conjecture.
Maybe so. But it's not the only evidence. There is Trump's birthday itself. Donald John Trump was born June
14, 1946 in Queens, New York.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New York. June 14, 1946.
6/14/46. The first number: 6. The last number: 6.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the middle: 144. 1+4+4=9. And 9
upside-down... is 6. 666. The mark of the devil. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Yes, it's shocking. Bone chilling. People
shudder to think that someone who has accrued vast wealth, and has plastered
his name all over the world on phallic ego palaces may be
the personification of evil. Others will argue that this is idiotic. Just a cheap shot, a cowardly attack on a man's background and character to score points in
a political fight. But until it is put to rest we will never know the truth. And the American people need to know the truth. They need to know the true identity of someone who is trying to become the most powerful person on Earth. <o:p></o:p></div>
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That is why it is necessary for Mr. Trump to settle this
once and for all in the only way possible: by shaving his head, live, on national
television. It would certainly be a fantastic, tremendous, terrific, event, watched by, using Trumpian metrics, tens of trillions of people. But it's the only way to put this controversy
to rest and ease the minds of God-fearing Americans who need
to know that a man who is running to be the leader of the free world is not the spawn of Satan. It's up to you, Mr. Trump. In the name of all that is holy -- show us your head! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
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IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-43739078455419480202016-05-16T06:38:00.003-07:002016-05-16T06:38:51.256-07:00RUN, JEB, RUN!Dear Jeb: I'm a Democrat. I dislike your policies. They hurt the country, and bring misery to the lives of regular Americans. However, I do feel your pain. Because Democrats are compassionate. Not from of any religious dictate, but from basic human decency. So, I know what you're going through. Having to sit back and watch that bloviating parade float Donald Trump become your nominee -- America's Berlusconi, turning your precious GOP into the Bunga Bunga party. Having to listen to his moronic statements on serious issues without cringing. Or weeping. It must be like seeing an ex-girlfriend ride off on the back of some guy's Harley, after he stole the bike from your garage, punched out your mother, and violated your dog.<br />
<br />
I know how humiliated you must feel. He mocked you. Taunted you. Called you low energy. Insulted your wife. And all you could do was stand there and take it, incapable of lowering yourself to his level to slam him back. Not that you didn't try. You were just incapable. And it was just sad. The man gutted you on national TV. He broke you. And all you wanted was to give America another Bush presidency. Not that we wanted it. The last one was sufficient, thank you very much. <br />
<br />
Still, I know it hurt. And I know you think there's nothing you can do but sit back and watch Trump cut a swath of destruction through the country, like a tornado ripping through a trailer park. But there is something you can do, something that would really hurt him. Run. Run as a third party candidate. Yes, I know there's talk of Ben Sasse getting in. But, c'mon, there's no irony in Ben Sasse. You need to do it.<br />
<br />
All through the primaries Trump taunted the party by refusing to sign the pledge. Then he signed it. Then he flirted with backing out. He thought he was the one with the third party power. But now you've got it. Do the very thing he taunted you with. Stick it to him. Cut him with his own sword. You must have a few bucks in the coffers. Go Green Party. Libertarian. Bull Moose. Or, given the intellectual level of the debates, the Know-Nothing Party.<br />
<br />
Think about it. You'd siphon off enough old-school Republican votes to make sure he'd go down in flames. Sure, Trump will probably screw himself eventually, but who wants to take that chance? We all know he's shrewd, and ruthless. But he's dumb. Way too dumb to actually be president. On a debate stage, Hillary will stomp him like, well, like a protestor at a Trump rally. She'll dazzle him with facts and he'll lose his shit because he won't be able to respond intelligently, and he can't deal with being attacked, especially by a woman. But why take that chance? You're the one who could hurt him now. You know you want to. Imagine the sweet, sweet taste of Jeb's revenge. But if you're just too hurt, too wounded to get back on the campaign trail, I get it. It might be too hard to summon up the facial muscles needed to force out that sad clown smile. Then, do the rest of us a favor, pass this on to the other losers in the Sweet 16.<br />
<br />
Carly. He mocked your face. Christie. You endorsed the son of a bitch, then he dragged you around like a pug on a leash. And if he didn't call you fat, he was thinking it. And Marco. Little sweaty Marco. I know you're saving your reputation for 2020. But get out there now and talk some shit. Hit him with the small hands thing again. Lindsey. You're a fun guy. Have a Mint Julep and let that acid tongue loose on the trail. Kasich. For a brief, shining moment, you were the least ugly guy in the bar at last call. Get back out there and stuff your face with ethnic food. And Ted. Lyin' Ted. Instead of venting your anger by forearm smashing your wife in the face, take that evil that swirls around you like Fukushima fallout and channel it for some good, old-fashioned revenge.<br />
<br />
Or maybe all of you do it together. I know that sounds socialist, but you'd be uniting to defeat a common enemy. Like when FDR and Churchill met with Stalin at Yalta. Imagine the look on Trump's face when you steal his votes. Jeb can sting him in Florida. Cruz can kneecap him in Texas. Pataki and Christie can nail him in the northeast. Carly can screw him in California. Someone must like her there. Jindal and Lindsey can take the south. It would be like the ending in Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile. The suspects' hatred for the victim ran so deep they all killed him. C'mon. Don't do it for the country. Don't do it for the party. Do it for the most Republican reason of all: political payback. Hook yourselves together like rats pulling a ratfuck Santa sleigh. Now Kasich! Now Walker! Now Graham! Now Carly! On Ted! On Bobby! On Marco! On Christie! It will truly be Christmas when that cocky smirk is wiped off that asshole's fat face, replaced by a befuddled "what in the heck just happened?!"<br />
<br />
It would be the perfectly insane ending to an insane year. You're Republicans. Even though some of you are displaying an uncharacteristic sense of honor by refusing to support the man, most will follow party orthodoxy and fall in line like good little apparatchiks. But don't do it. Don't unite! Rebel! Go rogue and gut the arrogant son of a bitch. 'Cause you know damn well he would have done it to you.IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-85276424258707016032016-05-14T20:55:00.001-07:002016-05-14T20:55:57.596-07:00IBREAL: NEW POST ON ATTN.COM<a href="http://ibreal.blogspot.com/2016/05/new-post-on-attncom.html">IBREAL: NEW POST ON ATTN.COM</a>IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-34714274282643215172016-05-14T20:52:00.002-07:002016-05-14T20:55:31.587-07:00NEW POST ON ATTN.COM http://www.attn.com/stories/8078/alec-nonprofit-conservative-agenda-state-govt?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=internal<a href="http://www.attn.com/stories/8078/alec-nonprofit-conservative-agenda-state-govt?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=internal">http://www.attn.com/stories/8078/alec-nonprofit-conservative-agenda-state-govt?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=internal</a>IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-4957389795899611772016-05-11T08:40:00.001-07:002016-05-11T08:40:00.158-07:00NEW POST ON HUFFINGTON POSThttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ian-gurvitz/run-jeb-run_b_9861992.htmlIBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-204018289490308882016-05-03T07:00:00.005-07:002016-05-03T07:00:59.609-07:00NICE BOOK REVIEW ON GOODREADS.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show?id=1612541828<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">If you have ever yelled at the tv news or newspapers like The Post , then Gurvitz's new rant is a must read. He tackles issues: health care, freedoms, American culture, politics, religion, and even cigarette addiction. </span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">Gurvitz is not shy or delicate as he scolds the Dumbfuckistans for falling for Conservative rhetoric. He uses facts and figures (which are not footnoted, but are fact-checked) to colorfully prove that Civilization Is barbaric, uninformed and DUMB. If his audience buys his premise they will cheer his breadth of knowledge and irreverence . If the reader is a Dumbfuckistan, before burning this book, he/she will have an apoplectic fit. The red neck, Bible toting reader who carries his/her gun and pack of unfiltered cigarettes to the PTA meeting and demands that Creationism is just as true Evolution and that Earth Science and Biology are just tools of the Devil will want this book banned from stores or at least libraries and Walmarts.</span><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">He sees the world as divided: dumb and smart, like him. As a writer, his voice is strident and righteous. Though Gurvitz studied Buddhism and lived in Japan, his New York swagger and Hollywood schmooze are much more evident in his vibrant and profane prose than any zen politeness. If you're like me, you will have underlined some of his arguments to warm up or possibly incense a dinner party.</span>IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-73429903594455042772016-04-11T06:54:00.002-07:002016-04-11T06:54:18.593-07:00INTERVIEW ON ATTBN.COM ON WELCOME TO DUMBFUCKISTAN<a href="http://www.attn.com/stories/7274/ian-gurvitz-welcome-to-dumbfuckistan-q-and-a" style="color: blue; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">http://www.attn.com/stories/7274/ian-gurvitz-welcome-to-dumbfuckistan-q-and-a</a>IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-76807771622503074912016-04-04T18:55:00.003-07:002016-04-04T18:55:42.951-07:00WELCOME TO DUMBFUCKISTAN -- NEW BOOK ON AMAZON<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-30095137479458701802013-07-27T08:10:00.001-07:002013-07-27T08:10:43.850-07:00RIP JJ CALE<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/i5Tiqv4Irjs" width="480"></iframe>IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-24450192029319513662012-12-05T19:46:00.001-08:002012-12-05T19:46:04.548-08:00Dave Brubeck Quartet - Take Five (Belgium 1964) RIP<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/e1S_vA0ougg?fs=1" width="459"></iframe>IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-62325119856275719622012-11-20T11:53:00.001-08:002012-11-20T11:53:26.906-08:00THE GOP'S "COME TO JESUS" MOMENT<br />
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<br />
As the Schnook of Mormon continues to tour the country in his ongoing effort to self-deport what's left of his political future, other Republicans have taken to the public highways to admit that; yes, we got our asses kicked. And, yes, we need to rethink, retool, and readjust. But what is fascinating about all this is that, had they prevailed in the election, they would have come out guns blazing and mercilessly whacked so-called entitlement programs, all in the name of fiscal responsibility. But they didn't win. They lost. They lost bad. So, now the, I guess you could call them, less unreasonable members of the party, have come out and admitted that they need to reach out to non-white voters, whose numbers are sadly increasing. Even with their horrendous polling job during the last election, this has become a stark reality for them.<br />
<br />
But as they come forward, all reasonable, penitent, and reflective -- this following four years of stonewalling and intransigence -- one thing becomes obvious: they still don't get it. Their revelation is more of a "Come to Hey-soos" moment. It's about the appearance, not the reality. The presentation, not the policy. For Bobby Jindal, who at one point was the GOP's 'they got an ethnic guy, we'll get us an ethnic guy" to state that "for minorities to like us, we've got to like them" is all well and good. But it's not about being liked. It's not about putting a kinder, gentler, or darker face on the same old dickish policies. It's not about trotting out Marco Rubio to explain how trickle down economics is good for everyone and sell the same rising tide bullshit that didn't work during the Bush years. "We're turning Medicare into a voucher program" sucks just as bad in Spanish as in English.<br />
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For all the lessons of the past two presidential elections, they still don't get it. The "gifts" that Romney lamented weren't handouts. Democrats weren't giving out free cheese and condoms out of the back of a panel truck. These were programs that made people's lives better. The one lesson they just won't learn is that it's not about coming off more compassionate. It's about being more compassionate.<br />
<br />
Mitt Romney can make an appearance with an African-American group and bust out into "Who let the dogs out" because in his stick-up-his-ass Caucasian mind, he thinks that would be a good way to connect with these people. "I'll sing one of their songs."<br />
<br />
As the GOP prepares to retool for 2014 and 2016, I'm sure they're looking to the ethnic bench to see who might be a better mouthpiece. Jindal? Maybe. Most people will have forgotten how pathetically stiff he was in his State of the Union rebuttal. Rubio? Could be. Though the one thing he'll never shake is that he just looks like a dick. Even when he smiles, it's the smile of an 8-year-old who just burned a trail of ants on the sidewalk. Christie? Maybe. And of course there are the gals of the party, who can reach out to women voters. Though their success would necessitate the silencing of the "God planned rape babies" crowd.<br />
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So, as they move off the last four years of giving blow jobs to Grover Norquist and take one in the shorts on taxes, while secretly laying in plans to take the government back in the midterms, my advice would be to keep thinking the way you do. Let Rubio visit Iowa. Let Jindal tour the country. You don't need a new product. You just need to retool the brand and find a new spokesperson to reach out to that growing Latino population to <i>esplain</i> how deeply you care. Who knows, maybe Sophia Vergara or the Frito Bandito have political ambitions. And by all means, keep Reince Priebus in the job. What better guy to advance dickish policies, than a guy whose own name is an anagram for <i>pubic sneer.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Oh, and one more thing: to the smug, dick-faced asshole I met at a birthday party a year ago, who bet me $500 that Obama would lose the election, I've been holding this in for a year: FUCK YOU!!!<br />
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<br />IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-92026477929130394152012-08-31T08:29:00.000-07:002012-08-31T08:29:18.156-07:00GO AHEAD -- MAKE MY LUNCH!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3C6b8pxmylc/UEDQIfvDL2I/AAAAAAAAAN4/QttPHpi9gtU/s1600/151014655_610x407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3C6b8pxmylc/UEDQIfvDL2I/AAAAAAAAAN4/QttPHpi9gtU/s320/151014655_610x407.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Go ahead -- make my lunch! A tuna sandwich on white. I like white. It's not chewy like wheat, so I don't need my teeth. And use the water tuna. Not oil. It's greasy. And cut the crusts off, I don't like the crust. And no lettuce. With a glass of milk. Skim, not whole. Whole milk makes me gassy. And put it on the tray by my chair by the tv. It's a new tv. My kids gave it to me so I could watch baseball. I like baseball. How about that Willie Mays, can he play, or what? Hey, it's not on baseball! I think the night nurse changes it to the Spanish stations when I'm asleep. I don't like the Spanish stations. The men all have thick mustaches and the women are fat and show their big breasts. And I don't understand what they're saying. Where are my pants? I left them on the chair. Who stole my pants!? Oh, there they are. Check the pockets. I had seven dollars in there. Make sure it's there. I think the night nurse took it. Where's my sandwich!? It's Tuesday. I know that. I have to make. Action! Why can't I bring my gun here? I have my rights. It was a gift from the Iti fella I made a western with last century. Besides, it's not loaded. I'm not loaded. They don't let you drink here. The night nurse drinks. I can smell it on her when she rolls me to change the sheets. She thinks I can't but I can. She also looks at my pecker. She thinks I don't notice. But I do. Where are my pants? The blue ones with the buttons. I don't like a zipper. My pecker gets caught in it. Hurts like the dickens. Dickens? Ha. Where's that sandwich already?! Oh, I'm eating it. Yum. Where's the bathroom, I have to make. Never mind. Go ahead -- change my pants.IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-51927376155047537572012-03-01T08:19:00.002-08:002012-03-01T08:21:47.518-08:00A Song to Describe How it Felt to Learn of Andrew Breitbart's Death -- And, yes, I know this is petty but it's a tough fucking world and you're supposed to make it more sane, honest, loving, and compassionate -- not less.<div style="text-align: center;"> -<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pdJzLpWFYJ4?fs=1" width="459"></iframe></div>IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-79994395612696878362012-02-23T10:24:00.000-08:002012-02-23T10:24:41.677-08:00Saintorum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8xHJcnUYpGw/T0aBbF2e_nI/AAAAAAAAANw/wSdrQuyqKYw/s1600/Santorum-church.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8xHJcnUYpGw/T0aBbF2e_nI/AAAAAAAAANw/wSdrQuyqKYw/s320/Santorum-church.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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It's ironic for a guy who hates sex as much as Santorum to so deliberately and gleefully fuck himself. But that's what he's doing. Having sat out much of the early rounds in this Star Wars bar of a Republican primary as one goon after another dissolved into irrelevancy, now that someone's actually glanced over at the sad, pear-shaped, weak-chinned gnome nursing a soda pop and walked over to chat him up, suddenly he thinks he's pretty. Suddenly, he actually thinks the world wants to hear his vision for America instead of just getting a hand job in the parking lot. And so he's gleefully shooting his mouth off.<br />
<br />
No public education, because it puts un-Godly ideas in people's heads and is "an anachronism." As opposed to schoolin' based on a literal interpretation of a 2000-year-old book. No pre-natal testing because it detects Down Syndrome fetuses so they can be sucked out before they can enter society and smile adorably. No birth control because it interferes with God's plan to mass produce Christians. No pre-marital sex because it doesn't mass produce Christians. No gay sex because it doesn't mass produce Christians. Someone needs to explain something to Ricky -- Nobody cares! To most of us living here in the 21st century, these are non-issues. We're past that. The culture wars are a dodge. Political misdirection. Something Karl Rove and company dreamed up to fire up the hicks and propel themselves into office so they could go about the real business of Republican rule: making themselves and their friends rich. Like the so-called "fair tax." Everyone pays the same. Sounds fair. And Americans believe in fairness. But the trick is that the rich simply want to pay less and if the price is other people getting to pay less as well; well, who gives a fuck?<br />
<br />
So for a quick, shining moment, the media took a look at Rick -- A guy who was born too late to follow his true calling as a judge at the Salem witch trials. One look at that smug, patrician scowl and you can see him leaning over his bench, pointing an accusing finger at some poor waif and shrieking "burn her!" And while the thought of him anywhere near actual power sends a cold shiver down one's spine, there's a part of me that would like to see him get the nomination. First off, just to wipe the sense of entitlement off Romney's face and that Nero-like sneer off Gingrich's. And as for Ron Paul -- who cares? He's a primary skin tag. Yet, he has the unique distinction of being the one Republican candidate who, if you listen to him for 5 minutes, he makes a lot of sense. But when you listen for 10, you realize he's out of his fucking mind.<br />
<br />
So, if by some fluke the Republican faithful become so enthralled with their pet culture warrior that they drip Santorum on one another and nominate the weasel -- well, then -- great. I'd love to see the little shit on a debate stage with the president. It's one thing to preach to the retarded choir that attends these debates about the president's private "environmental theology." It's another to stand on a stage and debate the man, at which point the country will see him for who he is -- the mealy mouthed kid who talks tough on the team bus on the way to the game, then gets into the game and gets his ass kicked.<br />
<br />
But that fantasy will probably have to remain as such because as Santorum continues to fuck himself via the act of talking, the punditocracy has once again focused on Romney, a guy whose calling in life is to sip a ginger ale in the clubhouse of a restricted country club. So instead of another round of culture wars, we'll have to endure another half-year of Mitt standing on stage in his mom jeans, flashing that excruciating smile as he painfully and pathetically tries to connect with actual people while firing up the base with the boogeyman du jour -- Obama's war on the rich! Obama's war on religion! Iran getting the bomb! Government taking your freedom! Immigrants taking your jobs! Be afraid of the intelligent black guy in the white house! But pay no attention to the Mormon behind the curtain.<br />
<br />
Though maybe Santorum will take the Veep slot under Romney where he can fight the culture wars to his sanctimonious little heart's content and take his rightful place in history as the second coming of Dan Quayle. Heads up to the gay couple on Modern Family -- you've been served.IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-7511571389834826602011-12-21T10:37:00.000-08:002011-12-21T10:37:18.863-08:00IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE FAILURE...<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qOKSHn82SSc?fs=1" width="480"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Only this "fucking asshole," as an Iowa voter called him to his face, could stick up a spot like this. A spot that is, at one and the same time, unctuously Christmassy, and blatantly cynical. The sight of Newt's smug, jowly mush next to his Plasticine Pat Nixon clone of a 3rd wife waxing all "from our family to yours -- best of the holiday season" is as vomit-inducing as watching Nixon in the Oval Office with James Brown. For all the jingle-jangle holiday horseshit, there's nothing this toad does that isn't politically calculated and motivated, particularly his recent entreaty to Mitt to lay off the negative ads. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Newt knows that his recent surge has been beaten back through negative ads dragging out his warehouse full of baggage, so to call for a return to civility and "let's debate the issues" is a blatant attempt to neutralize his opponents' best weapon. On every right wing issue, he's vulnerable as shit. An anti-government crusader who took gobs of cash as a lobbyist, then has the arrogance and audacity to claim it was for his expertise as an historian. A three-times married unfaithful husband calling for a return to old-fashioned values. A man running for the Presidency who would arrest judges whose opinions he doesn't agree with. That he can trot out these lies with a straight face only demonstrates his utter contempt for the rest of us. The people. The press. Everyone. Even O'Reilly called him out on it. How full-tilt gonzo do you have to get before Bill O'Reilly goes "ok, now wait a minute, you can't be serious"?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">As to Newt's momentary comeback from pussy-whipped, Aegean-cruising, Tiffany buying newtered hubby to the head of the GOP wolf pack, to the point where he even declared himself the "presumptive nominee" I am decidedly mixed. While the consensus is that he'll lose to the President in the general election, putting this pompous dictator-wannabe that close to executive power is a frightening prospect, especially to a country just getting over the soul shivers from Sarah Palin's potential irregular heartbeat away from the Oval Office. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Still, as amusing at it is to watch the pack go at each other, the one point I don't hear from Democrats is that, while it may matter politically who the nominee is, from a policy point of view it doesn't. They need to make the point that the policies advocated by the GOP are the same policies that put the country into financial freefall. Putting aside the culture wars and their attempt to drag us back to the 19th century, or perhaps the 1st century, it is the economy -- first, last and always. Even this week's political maneuvering in the house over the Payroll Tax bill shows that the GOP is so obsessed with beating the President in 2012 they would deny him any success, even when it's based on a bi-partisan compromise that already passed through the Senate. Even when it means fucking the rest of us in the bargain. And even though "the rest of us" includes Democrats <u>and</u> Republicans. If you're Boehner, I can't imagine how you spin this one. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">For all the comic moments the GOP pre-season has brought -- the gaffes, the goofs, the mistresses, the oops moments -- someone needs to make it clear that it isn't their incompetence or their desperation that's making them look like a collection of -- to quote that Iowa voter-- fucking assholes. It's the paucity, and frankly the danger, of their ideas. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-31993928538909113012011-12-19T17:21:00.000-08:002011-12-19T17:21:22.581-08:00Coincidence?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0Uv51Ikd7ck/Tu_fXZ8QaGI/AAAAAAAAANI/4ymoNUjYdR0/s1600/trial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0Uv51Ikd7ck/Tu_fXZ8QaGI/AAAAAAAAANI/4ymoNUjYdR0/s200/trial.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2MKZxCLbbTM/Tu_flbq1i4I/AAAAAAAAANQ/EZqn17XaI-A/s1600/santorum_tries_to_raise_money_from_his_google_problem-429x307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2MKZxCLbbTM/Tu_flbq1i4I/AAAAAAAAANQ/EZqn17XaI-A/s200/santorum_tries_to_raise_money_from_his_google_problem-429x307.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qj5yhRkXsH4/Tu_eFTNOU-I/AAAAAAAAAMg/kYuBfRN61U0/s1600/giligans-island-movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qj5yhRkXsH4/Tu_eFTNOU-I/AAAAAAAAAMg/kYuBfRN61U0/s200/giligans-island-movie.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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</u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6--xLiAlFF4/Tu_ewLESu5I/AAAAAAAAAMw/cWTeQSAFEOA/s1600/Newt-Gingrich.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6--xLiAlFF4/Tu_ewLESu5I/AAAAAAAAAMw/cWTeQSAFEOA/s200/Newt-Gingrich.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-12732649503353155812011-12-16T11:44:00.000-08:002011-12-16T19:00:30.692-08:00Rick Warren -- Hands off Hitchens, You Sanctimonious Boob<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FdmQNgCje54/TuuYbYrXlNI/AAAAAAAAAMA/PIU2GNacdNQ/s1600/rick_warren.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FdmQNgCje54/TuuYbYrXlNI/AAAAAAAAAMA/PIU2GNacdNQ/s320/rick_warren.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><br />
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As the tributes for Christopher Hitchens pour in from every geographical and ideological corner, none I imagine would have provoked a lash from his acid tongue more than the words of sanctimonious JE$U$ freak, the Rev. Rick Warren, who tweeted: "My friend Christopher Hitchens has died. I loved and prayed for him constantly and grieve his loss. He knows the Truth now." Note the capital "T" in truth.<br />
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Sorry, Reverend, but Hitchens is dead. He knows nothing now because there is no him left. No brain function. No personality. No ego. He is atoms. Molecules. Cosmic stuff. Not a happy spirit getting off the bus in God Camp, staring up at His Divine Presence while smacking his forehead like some buck-toothed goober, thinking "D'oh! Was I wrong!" Only a true intellectual coward would fire a cheap debate shot after the man is dead in a vain attempt to score a point he's unable to rebut.<br />
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And if Jesus really were the time-travelling death-defying uber human product of magic sex between some fictitious bearded sky daddy and an earth lady, my only wish would be that he would come back now just to bitch slap the living shit out of you for trivializing his message for fun and profit.<br />
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There is no God in the sky. No magical place called heaven. And if there were a hell it would be here on earth where where greed merchants have discovered that you can exploit people's ignorance, fear, and gullibility to make millions in the religion business. So if you truly have any of the decency I imagine you claim to have, please let the man die with his thoughts and integrity intact.IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-20430000881985858542011-12-06T21:29:00.000-08:002011-12-06T21:29:59.828-08:00RIP Hubert Sumlin - Still Playing The Blues<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lXbsKnk0QDg?fs=1" width="459"></iframe>IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-46349435714314090222011-11-29T18:24:00.000-08:002011-11-29T18:24:26.033-08:00Sperman Cain and the No-Soul Train<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <br />
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As if the multiple allegations of sexual misconduct weren't enough. As if the Libya gaffe wasn't enough. As if the smoking campaign manager wasn't enough. As if the silly 9-9-9 economic plan wasn't enough. Now we get the closer: a Georgia businesswoman has just opened up to a local Atlanta station about a 13-year "inappropriate relationship" with the pizza guy turned presidential aspirant. And she's got proof. Not that it matters. Like Governor Oops, Herman looked good through Republican beer goggles for about five minutes. But the true damage wasn't that he opened his fly. It was that he opened his mouth. Now he's polling in single digits, and as he "reassesses" his campaign; i.e. gets ready to bug out, we're on to the new flavor of the minute: Newt. I guess, in Republican politics, everything old is Newt again.<br />
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Newt the sage, the historian. The three-times married traditional family guy, who could've given Herman some advice: if you're going to fuck around, you gotta marry 'em. Otherwise you look like a hypocrite spouting the old-time values. But compared to the misfits they keep throwing up on that stage, Newt is a genius. And through it all, Mitt's still sitting there polling in the low 20s and acting like the chick in high school who wouldn't put out but knew the boys would come back around when they were ready to settle down. <br />
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It must be even tougher to endure this debacle from the GOP side. The only honest statement out of the mouth of a Republican in the last three years was uttered by Mitch McConnell: "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term President." Everything they've said and done in all that time has been in the service of that one objective. So, it must be torture to have spent three years grooming a champion to take back the White House only to end up with this non-tourage. This clown college. This movable farce. I imagine, for the more sober, old-school Republicans, at some point you have to look at this group and think: "it really doesn't matter who they fucked. What matters is <u>that</u> they're fucked."<br />
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And while one can take some delight in each gaffe, each misstep, each oops, and each "I barely knew that woman" the joy is not pure. Because as soon as one incompetent derails it just opens the field for another one even more onerous. Cain disappears. Great. Bachmann babbles her way into obscurity. Whew. Still, that leaves Newt and Mitt. There must be some schadenfreude-like word for the momentary joy one feels at each fool's disappearance only to have it quickly replaced by sadness brought on by the realization of the fools who are left.<br />
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For all the rancor that has permeated the political debate over the last three years, the only thing we may share during this process, both Democrats and Republicans, is the knowledge that this group is just fucking sad. Though given the tired Republican platform, maybe Perry the fighter, Mitt the statesman, Newt the scholar, and Bachmann the waitress are the true standard bearers of some very tired, mean, outdated, discredited ideas.<br />
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Still, by the time they're done, the dull Mormon at the end of the bar nursing a diet Coke may end up being their guy. The man who made hundreds of millions of dollars buying companies and stripping them for parts while throwing people out of work. That's the job creator. The man who brought health care reform to Massachusetts but still can't find the right door to open so he can moonwalk away from it. A suit and a haircut in search of a personality and some conviction. This is the great white hope. That's got to hurt.<br />
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Emotionally, it must be like that joke about the neophyte in Hell who sees the denizens standing knee-deep in shit and thinks "Hell doesn't seem so bad." Then a voice bellows out of the speakers: "Ok, break's over! Everyone back on their heads!"IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-34067999800738180232011-11-26T09:31:00.000-08:002011-11-26T09:34:18.779-08:00IN CELEBRATION OF 10,000 PAGE VIEWS!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Ok, so it's a bullshit milestone. So what. I'm just using it as an excuse to test the reach of this blog to see who might be looking at it, and to ask people to check out (buy) my book: <i>Deconstructing God -- A Heretic's Case for Religion</i>. (Available on Amazon, Kindle, or Audible.com.) Toward that end, I've reprinted a post which summarizes the ideas in it. After all, what better way is there to celebrate this holiday season than to put forth the idea that everything we think we know about religion is wrong. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-collapse: separate; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br />
</span></i></span></span></u></span></span></div><div style="text-align: auto;"><u>10 FALSE ARGUMENTS ABOUT RELIGION</u></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">1)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Is there a God? No. There isn’t. Yes, it’s that easy. There’s no magical sky daddy who created us and lives in a place called heaven or anywhere else. There are also no angels, devils, heavens, hells, heavenly saints or magic virgins. These categories we’ve inherited have perverted the discussion of religion, resulting in an understanding of the subject in our culture that ranges from sadly ignorant to profoundly dumb. Though it’s not entirely our fault. We’re taught from an early age that the question of religion comes down to whether we “believe in God” or not. It doesn’t. Or, it shouldn’t. The anthropomorphic God is virtual idolatry. Monotheism with a polytheistic mindset.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">2)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>If there’s no God then who made the world? No one. If the world didn’t work, we simply wouldn’t be here. End of story. Like Ann Richards said about George Bush: “He found himself on third base and assumed he hit a triple.” Just like us. We found ourselves alive on Earth and assumed we were meant to be here instead of looking around at a world that functions and taking delight in the fact that it does, and gave rise to us. Per Alan Watts: “Man is a little germ that lives on an unimportant rock ball that revolves about an insignificant star on the outer edges of one of the smaller galaxies.” But how cool is that?</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">3)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>What about the conflict between science and religion? There is none. This silly alleged debate is the sad result of those who take the Book of Genesis as history instead of poetry. Science explores the origin and nature of the physical universe. Religion explores a deeper, more profound, psychological experience of human life. They work two completely different sides of the street. The nonsense that is creationism, or its uptown cousin, intelligent design -- which is just creationism with a GED -- is the sad byproduct of those who need to feel that the Bible is literally true in its entirety, or it’s rendered entirely false. This perverts both science and religion. The phenomenon of a magnificent sunset can be explained scientifically -- what causes the brilliant lights, how my eyes take in the sight and how my brain processes it, how many muscles move in my face when I smile. None of this negates or diminishes the joy or wonder I might feel sitting on the beach watching it. That is a moment for poets to write about, or artists to paint. Why do we need to feel that there is any purpose to the sunset beyond the sunset itself?</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">4)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Doesn’t the question of God and religion come down to faith vs. reason? No. Faith is an element in our lives. But it’s informed by reason. There are times in life that reason will only take you so far. Like when you’re in a plane that’s barreling down the runway. You can be comfortable in the knowledge that the odds are on your side and that the pilot is experienced and sober, but in that moment before takeoff you are in a world beyond your control. Experientially, there is little difference between saying “I have faith in God,” and “I believe life is good.” Either can give one the strength to persevere in tough times. Now, perhaps the God connotation is too strong for people to hear the word any differently, but there is a meaning to faith that arises out of human experience but which has nothing to do with some benevolent God looking out for you. At one of the many poignant moments in <i>The Power of Myth --</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> conversations between Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell -- Moyers asks him about faith, saying: “You are a man of faith. Of wonder.” To which Campbell replied: “I don’t need to have faith. I have experience.”</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">5)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>What about the afterlife? There is none. There’s no beforelife. There’s no afterlife. The kingdom of Heaven is a psychological, or mystical concept that has been misconstrued as a physical place. Eternal life is an experience of the here and now. Our yearning for an afterlife is based on our insecurities and fears about death and the unknown. What we are is energy that can neither be created nor destroyed. Our lives are waves coming in off the ocean. Nothing more. There is no soul that is in any way attached to our personalities. Of course we want to think we go on. Who wouldn’t? You put all this effort into a life and then it’s like you’re mugged and it’s all taken away. But the notion of an eternal soul has to do with our common essence, not our individual existence. When the energy goes out of us, “us” goes.<o:p></o:p></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">6)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>If there’s no God then what is the meaning of life? Wrong question? Why do we assume that meaning needs to come down from above and that our lives only have significance if they’re part of some great plan? The right question is: where is the meaning in life? Meaning is something we infer from the experience of being alive. Within the fact that our lives are finite. In fact, it’s because of that fact that life’s meaning is heightened. The meaning is in the experience.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">7)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Doesn’t religious war negate the claims of religion? No. It proves the harm can be done when a cunning dictator manipulates a race of stupid, gullible, desperate people. Religious war is an oxymoron. While every tradition has blood on its hands the culprit is blind belief and obedience, and at various times in history that has been transferred from the church to the state. Marx’s opiate of the masses easily becomes the amphetamine of the extremists. Though the crime when religion is used as a justification for murder or genocide is even greater because of the inherent expectation of moral behavior. Religion can be used as a weapon only when people are stupid enough to fall for it.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">8)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>What about those who claim to speak for God? Villains, thieves, and con men. Or women. God is not an entity. There is no God who speaks or endorses political candidates. When a preacher or politician claims their efforts are part of God’s plan, they should have a net thrown over them, because that is insane. Anyone who claims to be receiving these messages is either crazy, or lying for power, or money. Or both.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">9)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>But isn’t God interested in my life? No. And neither is Jesus. Jesus doesn’t love you because Jesus doesn’t know you. He died 2000 years ago and is not coming back because people don’t come back from the dead. Jesus doesn’t want you to be rich, successful or happy. Nor does he want you to be poor, homeless, and miserable. That’s up to you. Only in America could we conflate the two things we worship: God and money. This has created some very well off happy talk preachers who have managed to sell the notion of divine sanction for greed and personal aggrandizement. This is not religion. It’s purpose-driven megachurch nonsense.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">10)<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>But we can’t have religion without God. Yes, we can. Most people in the west approach this notion as an impossibility. But as an exercise ask it as a possibility. In other words: how might it be possible to understand religion without our traditional understanding of God? Religion has not been handed down from above. It erupted from within the collective unconscious and the knowledge that our ego-driven experience of life is limited, and a more profound experience is there to be known by anyone at anytime. This awareness -- call it spiritual, mystical, psychological -- is the experiential core of religion. Of all religions. All traditions have the purpose of laying out a road map to it, not a replacement for our normal experience, but as an enhancement of it. We need to refocus religion as an activity. Not something we are. But something we do. We need to bring religion back down to Earth. Lose the Gods, heavens, angels, miracles, and childish, magical thinking, and resurrect religion as an activity of connecting with that part of us that is not us, but lives in us, or flows though us. Call it energy, being, essence, Tao, Brahman, God -- it doesn’t matter. These are just linguistic and cultural variations on a single theme. Religion is an outgrowth of a very human desire for self-knowledge and an experience not just of our common humanity, but of our unity with all life. But as long as the discussion remains mired in silly arguments between faith and reason, religion and science, or belief and atheism, we will never crawl out of this intellectual hole we’ve inherited and we run the risk of losing the message that religion is there to communicate.</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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</div></div>IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129471960051978556.post-23204432022799135362011-11-17T09:05:00.000-08:002011-11-17T09:05:15.031-08:00WHO YOU GONNA BELIEVE -- ME, OR YOUR LYIN' EYES?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PBS57s3JpXg/TsP1OascRVI/AAAAAAAAALg/uvpDrpEDMbg/s1600/herman-cain-hoh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PBS57s3JpXg/TsP1OascRVI/AAAAAAAAALg/uvpDrpEDMbg/s320/herman-cain-hoh.jpg" width="235" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> There was a time when parents would tell their children: "If you study real hard, you can grow up to be president." Now, apparently, the study part is unnecessary. In fact, if you're running for the GOP presidential nomination, it almost seems counterintuitive. Forget, even for the moment, Cain's alleged moral lapses. Even put aside his painfully embarrassing gaffe when trying to recall his opinion about the president's actions in Libya. That momentary Palinism was right up there with her infamous declaration of foreign policy experience based on Russian jets flying over her house. The real sin was his damage control statement: "It was a pause!" That's the thing with stupidity. It assumes everyone around it is just as stupid and can be fooled with something that looks and sounds like sincerity. It's like that old joke about a guy being caught in bed with another woman by his wife, yet swears it's not what it looks like, protesting: "who you gonna believe -- me, or your lyin' eyes?!" </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> To say: "it was a pause" is to assume that the people watching didn't see this fool's eyes roll back in his head as he pushed the water bottle around and squirmed in his seat to stall for time, while praying an actual thought would visit him. He even went to the point of beginning to formulate a sentence, hoping that a coherent thought, like a train caboose, might roll in behind it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> The problem with Herman Cain isn't that he may have hit on women when he was at the NRA. The problem isn't that he has no clue about foreign policy or macroeconomics and is trying to ride a backstory, a smile, a hat, and a dumbshit slogan to the most powerful job in the world. The problem is, much like Sarah Palin, that he knows he's unqualified, but he still wants the job. He wants it enough to stand on a debate stage and try to bullshit his way through. That makes it about wanting power and the ego-gasm of being president, along with a disdain for the electorate in thinking they don't deserve better. Not that it doesn't take a massive ego to think you could and should be president, but it must be tempered with equal parts intelligence, experience, and humility, qualities painfully absent in this guy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> At the end of the day Cain is a sideshow. No one thinks he's ever getting the nomination. But what it does reveal is a party so ideologically bankrupt and so filled with anti-Obama rage that they'll say anything, do anything, and support anyone who seems to have a chance of winning next November, despite the fact that they're rallying behind the policies that put the country in a ditch in the first place. They're basically saying to the entire country: "who you gonna believe -- us, or your lyin' eyes?" So, maybe it's not surprising that Newt is this week's poster boy. My guess is he's used that expression once or twice. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>IBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08911461918274645353noreply@blogger.com0